Many professors agree that a strong foundation of acid-base chemistry is vital for students to understand the great majority of organic reactions they will face, and I firmly agree. Certainly, the importance of acid-base chemistry is reflected by the fact that organic textbooks typically discuss acids, bases, and proton transfer reactions early. Despite these early … Continue reading Getting Students to Connect Acid-Base Chemistry to the Rest of Organic Chemistry
Six Things Students Should Be Able to Do upon Completing Chapter 7, and One Thing They Shouldn’t
In my previous post, I described how happy I’ve been with my students’ ability to process the relatively complex interplay between kinetics and thermodynamics to understand the outcome of a competing set of chemical reactions. The specific example I gave involved the competition between transesterification and the Claisen condensation reaction, and that got me thinking … Continue reading Six Things Students Should Be Able to Do upon Completing Chapter 7, and One Thing They Shouldn’t
Ending on a Good Note
A few days ago I returned the second exam of organic II, the bulk of which covered nucleophilic addition and nucleophilic addition-elimination reactions. The following day, a student came to my office to ask questions about the problems she missed. This particular student got off to a rocky start at the beginning of the semester … Continue reading Ending on a Good Note
A Reaction by Any Other Name…
I gave my second exam of the semester a few days ago. One of the questions presented students with the reactants, conditions, and product of a Robinson annulation reaction. The question was worded: “Draw the complete, detailed mechanism for the following Robinson annulation.” After I collected the exams, I returned to my office to find … Continue reading A Reaction by Any Other Name…
Stuff Pre-Meds (and My Dad) Say, and What They Need to Hear
My father is a retired doctor and he’s never missed an opportunity to remind me that not once in his career in medicine did he need to APPLY the material he learned in college organic chemistry. And during office hours two weeks ago, a pre-health student flat-out told me she doesn’t see the point of … Continue reading Stuff Pre-Meds (and My Dad) Say, and What They Need to Hear
Is Learning Organic Chemistry like Learning a New Language?
Over the years, I've heard many organic faculty use the phrase: “Learning organic chemistry is like learning a foreign language.” I've certainly used the phrase myself to give advice to my own students, in an attempt to convey that both subjects are cumulative and require a lot of practice. This year, however, I find myself … Continue reading Is Learning Organic Chemistry like Learning a New Language?
A Mechanistic Organization and Learning Synthesis: Having Cake and Eating It, Too
When I began teaching organic chemistry over twelve years ago, I adopted a traditional textbook organized according to functional group. The concept of organic synthesis was introduced in a short section in Chapter 4, as was retrosynthetic analysis. The intention, I think, was good: with these aspects of synthesis introduced early, students would incorporate new … Continue reading A Mechanistic Organization and Learning Synthesis: Having Cake and Eating It, Too
Finally, An Online Homework System for Organic Chemistry That Is Worth the Investment!
About ten years ago, I attended a presentation that showcased a computer-based homework system for organic chemistry. I liked what I saw, especially in terms of its overall quality and the thought that went into writing the problems. I was intrigued, even excited about it, because I knew how valuable instant feedback is to student … Continue reading Finally, An Online Homework System for Organic Chemistry That Is Worth the Investment!
How Are Students Expected To Use A Textbook? [Video]
Students are encouraged to read their textbook before and after lecture, but do they? Elon professor Joel Karty discusses the pedagogical features in his new textbook--Display Text and Your Turn exercises--that have helped motivate his students to read, often weeks before lecture, and that he believes gives students more control over their own learning. Why … Continue reading How Are Students Expected To Use A Textbook? [Video]
Lone Pairs and Aromaticity
One of the things my students find most challenging about aromaticity is whether to include lone pairs as part of a cyclic π system. If a lone pair is included, then the number of π electrons increases by two, and a student’s prediction about whether a species is aromatic will also change. What I think … Continue reading Lone Pairs and Aromaticity